Your First Automation: A Step-by-Step Guide

This guide reflects the current SureDone automation UI as of April 2, 2026. Today, creating a custom automation is a two-step wizard that only captures the basic metadata. The actual automation logic is added after creation on the Advanced tab.

Step 1: Open Automations

In the left sidebar, click Automations. On the installed automations page, click Create Custom Automation.

This opens the custom automation wizard at /automations/new/info.

The current Automations page includes a dedicated Create Custom Automation button.

Step 2: Add Basic Info

The first screen is Add Basic Info. This screen only contains these fields:

For a first example, enter something like:

• Name: Daily Product Export
• Vendor: Acme Distribution
• Type: Products
• Action: Export
• Description: Exports in-stock products to our partner SFTP server every morning.

Click Next.

The first step only asks for the automation name, vendor, type, action, and description.

Step 3: Review and Create

The second screen is Review and Create Automation. It confirms the type and action you selected, then gives you a Create Automation button.

Click Create Automation. After that, SureDone creates the custom automation and opens its detail page at a URL like /automations/custom-<id>/details.

The review step is a confirmation screen, not a configuration editor.

Step 4: Understand the Tabs After Creation

Once the automation exists, you are no longer in the wizard. You are now on the automation detail page with tabs such as:

• Details - edit the same basic fields from the wizard
• Logs - review execution logs
• Advanced - edit the actual JSON configuration
• Templates - manage export templates if your automation uses them
• Instructions - read any markdown instructions attached to the automation
• Parameters - fill parameter values if you define parameters in the config
• Run - manually run or test the automation

After creation, the automation opens on the Details tab with the tabs you will use to finish the setup.

Step 5: Build the Real Config on the Advanced Tab

Click the Advanced tab. This is where the real work happens. The current UI uses a JSON editor/tree editor, not a step-by-step connection form.

A new custom automation starts with a small JSON skeleton. This is where you add connection, file_configs, and optional parameters.

A brand-new custom automation starts with a small root object similar to this:

{
  "vendor": "Acme Distribution",
  "slug": "acme-distribution-daily-product-export",
  "name": "Daily Product Export",
  "draft": true,
  "disable_all": false,
  "schedule": "0 0 * * 0",
  "type": "products",
  "action": "export",
  "description": "Exports in-stock products to our partner SFTP server every morning.",
  "disclaimer": "0",
  "beta": "0"
}

Notice what is missing at first:

• No connection block yet
• No file_configs yet
• No parameters yet

You add those sections yourself.

Example: Simple Product Export Over SFTP

Below is a practical starter configuration for a product export automation. You can use it as a model when editing the root object on the Advanced tab:

{
  "vendor": "Acme Distribution",
  "slug": "acme-daily-product-export",
  "name": "Daily Product Export",
  "draft": true,
  "disable_all": false,
  "schedule": "0 8 * * *",
  "type": "products",
  "action": "export",
  "description": "Exports in-stock products to partner SFTP as CSV.",
  "connection": {
    "type": "sftp",
    "address": "sftp.acmedistribution.com",
    "username": "suredone_export",
    "password": "your_password_here",
    "port": 22,
    "path": "/incoming/inventory"
  },
  "file_configs": [
    {
      "name": "product-catalog.csv",
      "search": "stock:>0",
      "field_map": {
        "guid": "SKU",
        "title": "ProductName",
        "price": "RetailPrice",
        "stock": "QuantityAvailable",
        "brand": "Brand",
        "mpn": "ManufacturerPartNumber"
      }
    }
  ],
  "disclaimer": "0",
  "beta": "0"
}

In that example:

• schedule controls when the automation runs
• connection tells SureDone where to send the file
• file_configs defines the output file and field mapping
• search limits the export to products with stock greater than zero

Step 6: Optional - Add Parameters

If you want credentials or user-specific settings to live outside the main connection block, add a parameters section and reference the values with {{parameter_name}} elsewhere in the config.

When parameters exist, the Parameters tab becomes the place where users fill in those values.

Step 7: Test From the Run Tab

Open the Run tab. The current UI includes:

• An email field for notifications
• Send me an email when finished
• Run full update
• Run in test mode
• A Status Table with debug and production status controls

For your first test:

1. Leave the automation disabled
2. Check Run in test mode
3. Click Run
4. Review the output and any files/status information on the Run and Logs tabs

The Run tab is where you do manual runs, test mode runs, and review the status table.

Step 8: Enable the Automation When Ready

Once your configuration is correct and your test run looks good, use the switch in the upper-right corner of the automation page to enable it.

This is the current replacement for the older advice to edit an active field during creation.

Quick Summary

• The creation wizard only captures Name, Vendor, Type, Action, and Description
• After creation, the Advanced tab is where you add schedule, connection, file_configs, and optional parameters
• The Run tab is where you test the automation
• The header switch is how you enable it

What to Read Next

• Understanding JSON for Automation Configurations
• Connection Types: FTP, SFTP, HTTP, Email & S3
• Field Mapping: Translating Your Data
• Scheduling Your Automations